Virginia surprised Blake Anderson with offer No. 1
CUMMING, Ga. — Blake Anderson is a big offensive lineman out of Cumming (Ga.) West Forsyth and he had been hearing from Iowa State, Michigan State and UCF among others. He had not heard too much from Virginia.
The 6-foot-5, 325 pound 2018 prospect knew Virginia requested his transcript, but the Cavaliers had done too much more than that in terms of recruiting this young man. That all changed very quickly a week ago when Anderson got news of his first offer.
"I got one letter from Virginia and they got my transcripts about a month ago, so the offer from Virginia really came out of nowhere," said Anderson. "Coach [Garett] Tujague (offensive line) sent me a text message asking me to call him, and when I called, he offered me.
"It was kind of out of the blue and crazy. I really couldn't believe it."
Anderson received some good feedback from coach Tugalue. The Virginia offensive line coach likes a lot about the Peach State lineman.
"He said that he likes how I like to finish and how I like to put people in the ground. He also said he feels I am a good pass blocker, that he likes my feet and that he really likes my film. He has talked to a few of my teammates and he heard that I am a good teammate, so he really just liked that about me and how I am a hard worker."
There has not been time for a visit to Charlotte (Va.) yet, but it will likely happen soon. Anderson has done a little research and talked with coach Tugalue a good bit about the program. His interest in high in the Cavaliers.
"They are a younger team, so they are really trying to build up the program," said Anderson. "This offer means a lot to me. I will be up there in April and they are definitely up there for me now. I will be learning a lot more about them."
The first offer is always the toughest one to get. Anderson will add more. He is training full-time this off-season after deciding to give up baseball, a sport he loves. He is focused on having a great spring and he will draw a lot of eyes in the coming weeks as the coaches start to hit the road for the evaluation period.
He has been wondering when it would happen. Now that it finally did for Anderson, he is at peace.
"It is really nice to get that first offer out of the way. It had been on my mind a lot. I have been wondering when it would come, who it would be from and now that I have it from a school like Virginia, it is really nice.
"It is something I have really been thinking about a lot, so now, I know I have one, it just relaxes me a little more and I am going to keep working hard."
